Would you leave a fed job?

[Anonymous]

I don't know. I'm a fed but I am worried about some of the potential changes in the federal workforce. I think some of it would depend where you are working now -- for some agencies, like EPA, it seems possible that a RIF could be coming.

[Anonymous]

What does your spouse or significant other do? It can be nice balance to have one person in stable job, one in a more lucrative job. I'm a Fed, so the family is on my insurance. My pay is predictable and my position is mission-critical so don't think it will be eliminated. DH has worked for contractors has had better pay and flexibility. For a while, he worked four days from home and spent a lot of time with our young child as a result. It was a nice arrangement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a secure federal job, after 14 years I make $158k and always imagined I'd stay until retirement. One of our contractors just asked me if I'd consider doing virtually the same job for them for over $200kthough in guessing the benefits aren't as good and the company is smaller and less secure. Would you consider leaving federal employment under these circumstances?

NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Coming from a contractor who made over 200k for many years. Contractors come and go, and Fed RFQ's get rewritten all the time, so whats currently budget this year, may change next year. Hi GS14's & 15's r golden in this crazy economy. Stay put.....

"Golden" Jesus, what do you people make? I haven't dipped below 280k in years, not even including my stock options. Can't imagine considering a government income "golden". Maybe if i lived in Cleveland.

NP. We're a double 15-10 couple, so we're at approximately 320K. I might be naive, but I considered that to be a very good amount. To be sure, we are looking at no more raises or paltry ones at best. And one only has to reach step 8 now at 15 to top out, due to pay compression and the weird way the last federal raise was implemented. And I am fully aware that a 3500 sq ft house on an acre could be had in a Cleveland suburb for 350K or less.

Of couse that is good, but for a ~150k salary in this market, i definitely wouldn't consider it "golden". That salary is a dime a dozen in this town. I worked as a fed for 2 years, got my clearance, got connections, studied the lay of the land always having a much more ambition in mind when i left for the private sector. My DH has never been a fed and is in finance and makes 210k and his company pays ALL healthcare, even copays and has a full 401k match, so that is flying in his account at 36k/yr.

I think the mindset and of a fed is extremely different. I tink for some being a wage slave is a-ok with them as long as that wage is guaranteed. I'd rather "risk" a few months of unemployment, in exchange for taking our high wages and investing aggressively in real estate and the stock market. There is so much money for the taking in this country, it is really obscene.

Not PP, but you sound like you work for Booze or some other defense contractor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does your spouse or significant other do? It can be nice balance to have one person in stable job, one in a more lucrative job. I'm a Fed, so the family is on my insurance. My pay is predictable and my position is mission-critical so don't think it will be eliminated. DH has worked for contractors has had better pay and flexibility. For a while, he worked four days from home and spent a lot of time with our young child as a result. It was a nice arrangement.

This is us - fed here, GS-15, most likely stick around for pension and healthcare for life. DH works in private industry (not contractor), less stable positions, but gets stock options, RSU's, bonuses, etc. It's nice to have the balance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a secure federal job, after 14 years I make $158k and always imagined I'd stay until retirement. One of our contractors just asked me if I'd consider doing virtually the same job for them for over $200kthough in guessing the benefits aren't as good and the company is smaller and less secure. Would you consider leaving federal employment under these circumstances?

NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Coming from a contractor who made over 200k for many years. Contractors come and go, and Fed RFQ's get rewritten all the time, so whats currently budget this year, may change next year. Hi GS14's & 15's r golden in this crazy economy. Stay put.....

"Golden" Jesus, what do you people make? I haven't dipped below 280k in years, not even including my stock options. Can't imagine considering a government income "golden". Maybe if i lived in Cleveland.

Are you in a technical role? At my agency, engineers make about the same or more than the contractors (GS15 and GS15).

Or are you doing sales/proposal work and leveraging connections to be worth $280k? Very rare to see see contractor worth that much bc they can't usually bill anywhere close to that.

[Anonymous]

I did it and regretted it. Left my government job for a well-known company and got laid off before the year was out. A colleague (also from government) suffered the same fate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I don't know. I'm a fed but I am worried about some of the potential changes in the federal workforce. I think some of it would depend where you are working now -- for some agencies, like EPA, it seems possible that a RIF could be coming.

Except that since these are budgets being cut, and not just FTE reductions , organizations doing business with the agency are likely to loose grants/contracts along with RIFs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't be greedy. Remember the more they pay you, the more you have to prove your worth. They will not spend 1/4 mil on an employee who doesn't produce x2-x3 profit.

Spoken like someone with no ambition at all.

LOL. Go for it then. Ambition doesn't pay the bills.

Now spoken like a true idiot.

It's called a life lesson stupid.